February 2018 Briefing - Pediatrics

Here are what the editors at HealthDay consider to be the most important developments in Pediatrics for February 2018. This roundup includes the latest research news from journal articles, as well as the FDA approvals and regulatory changes that are the most likely to affect clinical practice.

Alternatives to Whole Liver Transplants Feasible for Children

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 28, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Alternatives to whole liver transplants for children have become safer, according to a study published recently in The Journal of Pediatrics.

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 28, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- The prevalences of sending and receiving sexts are 14.8 and 27.4 percent, respectively, among youth, according to a review published online Feb. 28 in JAMA Pediatrics.

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 28, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Overall, 7.2 percent of women who gave birth in 2016 smoked cigarettes during pregnancy, with prevalence varying by age, maternal race and Hispanic origin, and educational attainment, according to a February data brief published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics.

TUESDAY, Feb. 27, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Current evidence does not show that medical marijuana laws (MMLs) enacted through 2014 have led to increases in adolescent marijuana use, according to a review published online Feb. 22 in Addiction.

TUESDAY, Feb. 27, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Trials to evaluate drugs or devices used to treat chronic medical conditions that are published early in the chain of evidence often show an exaggerated treatment effect compared with subsequent trials, according to research published online Feb. 21 in the Mayo Clinical Proceedings.

TUESDAY, Feb. 27, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Pregnant women older than 40 years have a higher risk of chromosomal abnormalities, miscarriage, and preterm birth compared to younger women but not congenital malformations or stillbirth, according to a study published online Feb. 5 in Obstetrics & Gynecology.

MONDAY, Feb. 26, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Understanding nonadherence in patients and encouraging a change in attitude toward patients and their medication can improve medication adherence, according to a report published by the American Medical Association (AMA).

MONDAY, Feb. 26, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- In a position paper published online Feb. 27 in the Annals of Internal Medicine, the American College of Physicians (ACP) presents recommendations for optimizing clinical learning environments by fostering a positive hidden curriculum in medicine.

MONDAY, Feb. 26, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Clinical practice guidelines have been updated to assist primary care (PC) physicians in the screening, treatment, and management of adolescent depression in youth aged 10 to 21 years. The details of the updates are presented in two reports published online Feb. 26 in Pediatrics.

FRIDAY, Feb. 23, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Artificial intelligence (AI), in which computers can be trained to recognize patterns in large quantities of data, may be able to reduce physicians' burdens, saving them time and energy, according to a report published in Medical Economics.

FRIDAY, Feb. 23, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Children with chronic kidney disease (CKD) may have deficits in global and domain-specific cognition, according to a review published online Feb. 22 in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

THURSDAY, Feb. 22, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- The percentage of uninsured U.S. persons of all ages did not change significantly from 2016 to the first nine months of 2017, according to a report published online Feb. 22 by the National Center for Health Statistics.

THURSDAY, Feb. 22, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- The correlation between maternal pre-pregnancy overweight and childhood overweight at ages 1 and 3 years may be mediated by birth mode and infant gut microbiota, according to a study published online Feb. 19 in JAMA Pediatrics.

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 21, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- School performance is significantly lower for children with prenatal exposure to valproate, according to a study published online Feb. 19 in JAMA Neurology.

TUESDAY, Feb. 20, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Maternal receipt of influenza and tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid, and acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccines is not associated with infant hospitalization or death in the first six months of life, according to a study published online Feb. 20 in Pediatrics.

TUESDAY, Feb. 20, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Burnout is prevalent among physicians, affecting over one-third of physicians in a single health system, and is associated with health care delivery, according to a research letter published online Feb. 19 in JAMA Internal Medicine.

TUESDAY, Feb. 20, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Children involved in sibling bullying are at increased risk of developing a psychotic disorder, according to a study published online Feb. 12 in Psychological Medicine.

FRIDAY, Feb. 16, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Most influenza viruses identified in the 2017 to 2018 season are influenza A, with A(H3N2) viruses predominating, according to research published in the Feb. 16 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

THURSDAY, Feb. 15, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Most patients want greater connectivity, online tools and text messaging, as well as more time with their physicians, according to a report published in Medical Economics.

THURSDAY, Feb. 15, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Short stature at 7 to 13 years is significantly associated with increased risks in adulthood of ischemic stroke (IS) in both sexes and intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) in men, according to a study published online Feb. 15 in Stroke.

THURSDAY, Feb. 15, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Intravenous acetaminophen with or without ketorolac is associated with reduced opioid consumption and cost of care after scoliosis surgery in adolescents, compared with opioids alone, according to a study published online Jan. 29 in Pediatric Anesthesia.

THURSDAY, Feb. 15, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- As part of the Choosing Wisely campaign, the American Academy of Pediatrics and Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America have released a list of five orthopedic tests and procedures that are commonly ordered but are not always necessary for treatment of children with certain musculoskeletal conditions.

THURSDAY, Feb. 15, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Consumption of ultra-processed food is associated with increased risk of overall and breast cancer, according to a study published online Feb. 14 in The BMJ.

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 14, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Nusinersen is associated with significant and clinically meaningful improvement in motor function among children with later-onset spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), according to a study published in the Feb. 15 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 14, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Genetic stratification should play a role in clinical care of patients with noncompaction cardiomyopathy (NCCM), according to a study published in the Feb. 20 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

TUESDAY, Feb. 13, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Four best practices outlined that can help prevent health care cyberattacks, which increased from 2016 to 2017, according to a report published in Managed Healthcare Executive.

TUESDAY, Feb. 13, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- The Braden QD Scale reliably predicts both immobility-related and device-related pressure injuries in hospitalized pediatric patients, according to a study published in the January issue of the Journal of Pediatrics.

TUESDAY, Feb. 13, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- For drinking water quality violations, increasing time trends and violation hot spots have been identified in several states, especially in the Southwest, according to a study published online Feb. 12 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

MONDAY, Feb. 12, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- For infants born at a gestational age (GA) of less than 28 weeks, low postnatal levels of arachidonic acid (AA) are associated with developing retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), according to a study published online Feb. 8 in JAMA Ophthalmology.

MONDAY, Feb. 12, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- From 1999 to 2015 there was a small reduction in the rate of sudden unexpected infant death (SUID), according to a study published online Feb. 12 in Pediatrics.

FRIDAY, Feb. 9, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2D) is associated with subtle elevations of glucose and lipids more than 20 years before diagnosis, according to a study published online Feb. 5 in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism.

FRIDAY, Feb. 9, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Greater perceived harm from e-cigarettes lessens the likelihood that teens will use them, according to a study published online Feb. 1 in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Preventing Chronic Disease.

FRIDAY, Feb. 9, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- For neonates born at 22 to 29 weeks' gestation with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), off-label use of inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) is not associated with reduced mortality, according to a study published online Feb. 9 in Pediatrics.

FRIDAY, Feb. 9, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- In 2016, 8.3 percent of boys and 5.6 percent of girls aged 3 to 17 years had ever had a significant head injury in their lifetime, according to a February data brief published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics.

FRIDAY, Feb. 9, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Maternal prenatal and early childhood intake of sugar-sweetened beverages and fructose is associated with current asthma in midchildhood, regardless of adiposity, according to a study published in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society.

FRIDAY, Feb. 9, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Acne is associated with increased probability of developing major depressive disorder (MDD), with risk highest within one year of diagnosis, according to a research letter published online Feb. 7 in the British Journal of Dermatology.

FRIDAY, Feb. 9, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- For newborns with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), rooming-in with the mother or other family members is associated with improved outcomes, according to a review published online Feb. 5 in JAMA Pediatrics.

THURSDAY, Feb. 8, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- A long-feared shortage of a substance used in millions of medical imaging procedures each year in the United States appears to have been avoided, federal officials report.

THURSDAY, Feb. 8, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Most people do not believe that professionals including health care providers should be allowed to refuse to provide services based on their conscience or beliefs, according to a recent HealthDay/The Harris Poll.

THURSDAY, Feb. 8, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- A focused school-based healthy lifestyle program intervention does not have a significant impact on body mass index (BMI) z score after 15 or 30 months, according to a study published online Feb. 7 in The BMJ.

THURSDAY, Feb. 8, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Drowsiness may be a factor in about 10 percent of crashes, more than previously indicated in federal estimates, according to a report published by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 7, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- From 2001 to 2016 there was a decrease in the proportion of children having asthma attacks in the United States, according to research published in the Feb. 6 early-release issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 7, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- The prevalence of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and HSV-2 is 47.8 and 11.9 percent, respectively, for individuals aged 14 to 49 years, according to a February data brief published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics.

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 7, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Use of ketamine at induction followed by reduced propofol infusion rate for maintenance is associated with shorter recovery times for children undergoing magnetic resonance imaging with deep sedation, according to a study published online Jan. 27 in Pediatric Anesthesia.

TUESDAY, Feb. 6, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) concludes that there is considerable net benefit to screening for syphilis infection in pregnant women. These findings form the basis of a draft recommendation statement, published Feb. 6 by the USPSTF.

TUESDAY, Feb. 6, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Those with anti-vaccination beliefs are more likely to believe in conspiracy theories and hold strong individualistic/hierarchical worldviews, according to a study published online Feb. 1 in Health Psychology.

TUESDAY, Feb. 6, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- The estimated prevalence of fetal alcohol syndrome varies from 1.1 to 5.0 percent among first graders in four U.S. communities, according to a study published in the Feb. 6 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

TUESDAY, Feb. 6, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- In recent years there has been an increase in melanoma incidence, with more than 70 percent of melanomas diagnosed among those aged 55 years and older, according to a research letter published online Jan. 31 in JAMA Dermatology.

MONDAY, Feb. 5, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Children with sickle cell anemia (SCA) have low rates of receiving ≥300 days of antibiotic prophylaxis, according to a study published online Feb. 5 in Pediatrics.

MONDAY, Feb. 5, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Overall, patients who switch to high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) have a decrease in health care utilization, though high-severity emergency department visit expenditures and hospitalization days increase in members from low-income neighborhoods, according to a study published online Jan. 30 in Diabetes Care.

MONDAY, Feb. 5, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Exposure to the humanities correlates with less burnout and higher levels of positive personal qualities among medical students, according to a study published online Jan. 29 in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

FRIDAY, Feb. 2, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Physicians have considerable concerns about the efficacy and evidence base of health information technology (IT), according to a report published by the American Medical Association (AMA).

FRIDAY, Feb. 2, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- The nutritional differences and health benefits among various plant-based alternative milks are discussed in a review published in the January issue of the Journal of Food Science and Technology.

FRIDAY, Feb. 2, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Poor sleep worsens the association between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and chronic pain in youth, according to a study published in the January issue of the Journal of Pain.

FRIDAY, Feb. 2, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Children whose parents have type 1 diabetes (T1D) have a higher risk of being diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to a study published online Jan. 26 in Diabetes Care.

FRIDAY, Feb. 2, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- For young adults, persistent respiratory symptoms are associated with accelerated decline in lung function, according to a study published online Jan. 25 in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

THURSDAY, Feb. 1, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- States that expanded Medicaid cut the probability of non-elderly near-poor adults being uninsured and lowered average out-of-pocket spending, according to a study published online Jan. 24 in Health Affairs.